Denmark / Sweden - Building on the continuing interest of Solid State Logic's dive into live audio production, the company is regularly adding to its commercial distribution network for the new SSL Live console. As a result of this enthusiasm, the company has appointed Alfa Audio as the official SSL Live dealer in Denmark and Arva Trading will oversee distribution in Sweden.

"With live equipment portfolios that perfectly complement SSL's Live console combined with a wealth of experience in the live market, both Alfa Audio and Arva Trading are ideally suited to partner with SSL in this new venture," says Tim Harrison, area sales manager, SSL. "The highly innovative new Live console has rightly generated high expectations from our prospective clients to deliver a sales support structure of the highest standard at the local level. This is accomplished through Alfa Au

USA - PLASA has announced the winners of the 2013 Members' Choice Awards presented on Saturday, 23 November at the LDI and PLASA Awards Ceremony .The awards recognised newly released outstanding entertainment technology products. Voting on these awards was open to all employees of PLASA member companies who attended the LDI show.

Awarded in the Expendable Category was the Nano Spot by Darklight. As the smallest and more affordable LED spotlight on the market, members were pleased with its small size as well as the easily adjustable swivel head.

In the Gadget Category, members awarded the Source Four Mini by ETC. Impressed by its crisp Source Four optics and image projection, members appreciated its efficiency.

In the Equipment Category, members awarded the Phoenix LED by Altman Lighting, taking notice of its brand new 250 watt LED unit offered in 3K, 5,600K, RGBA and RGBW ve

Lebanon - Allen & Heath's GLD-80 digital mixer has been installed in the theatre of St. Joseph School in Lebanon by Technosound.

Located in Metn, east of Lebanon's capital Beriut, St Joseph is a tri-lingual school, teaching in Arabic, English and French. The GLD replaces an existing analogue mixer and will manage various performances which take place in the theatre.

"The Allen & Heath GLD-80 digital mixer was the perfect product to supply the school, I knew it would meet their every need when it came to creating a quality sound they needed for their performance. St Joseph's are very happy with the digital console," said Mr. Pierre Fahed, sales manager for Technosound.

"Technosound has long been a partner of PAXT and they continue to develop sales and broaden the range of Allen & Heath available in their market. We are happy to continue to support our successfu

USA / Canada - Electronic rock and art fuse in the eclectic sound of Phantogram as the duo from New York State are currently enjoying the crest of a wave of anticipation.

Lighting designer Ed Warren - known for his stylish and inventive stagecraft - was asked to create lighting for their latest US and Canadian tour which was out for a month playing a variety of venues between 800 and 1500 capacities to sold out audiences and receiving rave reviews.

Warren chose eight of Robe's tiny LEDBeam 100s to be a key part of the toured lighting rig - which had to fit into a trailer being towed behind the bus with all of the band's backline. They were chosen for their compact size and ability to help showcase the original lighting concept.

Warren received a brief from the band which referenced some of the artists they had seen recently including The National, Flaming Lips, Beach House a

Latvia - LumenRadio and Company NA have announced a distribution agreement whereby NA Company will serve as the distributor for the CRMX brand in Latvia.

"Company NA gives LumenRadio a strong partner in the Latvian market," says Jessica Björk, sales & marketing manager at LumenRadio. "With their excellent sales presence, technical support and strong brand awareness, I believe we are heading towards a really successful business relationship."

Company NA, founded 1994, is one of the leading professional companies in Latvia, with a wide range of light equipment, light system control and management equipment for theatre and stage use. Company NA has provided equipment to some of the largest installations all round Latvia, including the Eurovision Song Contest in Riga 2003.

"We are extremely proud and thrilled to be part of the LumenRadio family," e

USA - The Miss America pageant returned to its Atlantic City origins this year and lighting designer Allen Branton was charged with lighting the cavernous Boardwalk Hall and making sure 53 beautiful women looked their best whenever the TV camera turned their way. He was aided by Clay Paky Sharpy and Sharpy Wash fixtures from Atomic Lighting in Lititz, Pennsylvania.

Branton marked his sixth consecutive year lighting the pageant, which was televised on ABC-TV. After spending a number of years in Las Vegas the show moved back to Atlantic City where "the venue, audience and scenery doubled in size," he reports. "Given the size of the hall and way the show was set in the room, every single element of production had to be rigged from overhead - and there's no permanent rigging infrastructure. So there were 240 individual rigging points for lighting, sound, video, scener

UK - Clear-Com reports that Britain's largest shopping channel, QVC UK, has installed an Eclipse-Omega Digital Matrix and a FreeSpeak Digital Wireless Intercom into its relocated and newly built production headquarters and HD studios. Staff members at the new London-based broadcast complex can relay critical programme messages over the flexible and reliable Clear-Com communication systems, regardless of their location.

As part of the upgrade, the studio installed an Eclipse-Omega system as its intercom backbone. It is used for connecting the wireless FreeSpeak users with the Eclipse V-Series key panel users in the facility's two identical control rooms. The V-Series panels primarily serve those working in the "galleries" section of the control room, including sound control personnel and directors, producers and their assistants. Having used the FreeSpeak system at its

The Netherlands - XL Video collaborated closely with Ogle Hog to supply video production equipment, expertise and crew to the spectacular 2013 MTV EMAs staged at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam.

XL delivered nearly 800sq.m of various LED surfaces, video projections and creative / scenic LED elements plus control and 12 crew under the project management of Guido Ruysschaert to help realise an ambitious production design by Wieder Design from Germany. This was based on an intergalactic theme and featured a giant UFO style structure above a spherical stage.

The 2013 EMAs, directed for live broadcast by Russell Thomas and lit by Tom Kenny, was attended by a live audience of around 12,000 and aired across MTV's global network drawing record viewing figures - claimed to be over a billion! Fans worldwide cast a staggering 292m votes across all MTV digital platforms to help decide the 201

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies video division has supplied a Christie Roadster DS+14K-M projector to Clockwork Audio Systems Ltd to project a series of historic visuals onto Plymouth's 124ft Devonport Column in commemoration of its restoration.

Local social enterprise company, Real Ideas Organisation (RIO), oversaw the restoration and re-opening of the Grade I listed column. Their brief to Nick Western at Clockwork Audio Systems was to provide a solution to project historical images marking the life of the column - mapped onto its face, with an accompanying soundtrack and a fireworks climax.

The second requirement for the projector was that it could be used in the associated Devonport Guildhall next to the column - to project images for conferences and events - but also to use as part of a cinema experience.

AC-ET's Video division, which offers complete creative LED, p

USA - As of 1 November this year, Le Maitre USA, LLC relocated to Las Vegas, just 30 minutes off the Strip, and it's a move that couldn't have come at a better time, the company says. With a new president at the helm in the US, further investment in R&D and production at Le Maitre's pyrotechnics manufacturing location in the UK, and a steady stream of new products being added to their already extensive portfolio, Le Maitre believes it is "exceptionally well placed to forge ahead in North America as well as around the rest of the world".

The move from Le Maitre's previous US headquarters in Austin, Texas was something that Le Maitre USA joint-owner Karen Haddon had been keen to make happen for a while. She says: "Finding the right location for us in Vegas has involved a great deal of time and effort, but it's absolutely been worth it all. The move to Vegas offers a

UK - The stunning combination of light and video for Kings of Leon's summer dates was the work of Paul Normandale. It was left to board operator Ali Bale to elicit the best out of Normandale's design.

For Bale, this was the inaugural journey on a grandMA2 console. "I had been using the same desk almost exclusively for the last fifteen years; like most people you tend to stick to what you're used to. A desk is a very personal choice but Paul encouraged me, telling me that I wouldn't regret giving the MA2 a try. And, in fact, it was the ability of the board to allow you to set it up in such a way that is unique to its user is something that I feel is real strength of the console - something that initially won me over - without being limited to a fixed set of windows and faders which cannot be altered too much.

"For me and I'm sure a lot of MA users, the real time is sp

Italy - Outline has confirmed the appointment of Display Sound & Light Systems as their new official distributor for Turkey and Northern Cyprus.

Located in Istanbul and established in 1994, the company are one of Turkey's best-connected professional audio operations whose portfolio of work includes sales and installations throughout the country, in every conceivable type of application and project.

The diversity of their existing distribution portfolio highlights the range of markets they serve, and already includes several major international brands. The addition of Outline actually strengthens their entire market offering as the Italian manufacturer's product selection includes solutions for most touring and installation projects.

Outline sales director Chris Hinds commented: "Our ability to attract long-established market leaders like DS&LS speaks volumes about the g

USA - Last Friday night saw the United Nation's Headquarters in New York become home to the world premiere of David Guetta's One Voice video as it was projected live onto the building's facade as part of the UN's '#THEWORLDNEEDSMORE' campaign.

Lead agency Mission Media called in projection mapping and video consultants Bluman Associates to turn its concept into reality, transforming the 509ft building for special guests including secretary general of the United Nations Ban-Ki Moon and David Guetta.

Guetta's One Voice video was filmed especially for the groundbreaking cause marketing campaign which aims to turn people's words into real support for communities affected by humanitarian crises.

International brands have sponsored words they believe the world could use more of - such as inclusion, love and education - and every time someone tweets the word and the h

France - Cadac held a second European live sound industry presentation this month, in association with its French distributor Audio2. The event was hosted by leading sound, lighting, video and rigging events rental specialist Dushow at its Nice HQ, and was held in conjunction with DPA microphones and Meyer Sound.

The one day event was attended by numerous hire companies, sound designers and engineers from across France and Spain; where Dushow has operational centres in Paris, Marseille and Barcelona, in addition to it facility in Nice.

Commenting on the event, Cadac brand development manager Richard Ferriday says, "Following the success of our first presentation event with Outline in Italy, we are embarking on a series of 'roadshows' across the continent, in order to demonstrate the operational and audio superiority of our new product range - particularly the CDC eight an

The Netherlands - Advantech has signed an agreement with Avnet Technology Solutions. The partnership is formed specifically for the Pro AV market in Europe. Avnet Technology Solutions is a global IT solutions distribution leader and an operating group of Avnet, Inc.

As a global IT distributor, Avnet provides a variety of services designed to assist partners in bringing end-to-end digital signage solutions to the market quickly and cost-effectively. Bas Smeets, business development manager at Advantech explains the motives of partnering with Avnet: "With the tremendous growth in demand for professional digital signage and retail/hospitality solutions in Europe, Avnet's comprehensive experience and large customer base will help Advantech expand its business in this area."

Advantech provides an extensive range of reliable and innovative products that will help to com

Italy - Lighting designers Stefano Limone and Gianfranco Saponaro included 12 Robe Robin Pointes and eight LEDWash 600s in their scheme at the Teatro Franco Parenti, one of the larger venues at the new Elita Ouverture Festival, a celebration of EDM and electronic arts staged at various venues in Milan, Italy.

The lighting for the duration of the festival was looked after at the venue by Walter Lutzu, who has also been a keen Robe user for some time and loves the new Pointe multi-purpose fixtures in particular. He says: "It's a great product, lightweight and compact, with a host of features that make it highly versatile."

With Elita being an EDM festival, there was a need for lots of backlighting and filling the stage space with lights.

Six of the Pointes were positioned on the floor behind the DJ booth. For De La Soul's performance, these were re-positioned to be b

UK - London-based Eclipse Services' new advanced videoconferencing solution saved the day at a recent conference for multinational engineering and project management consultancy AMEC - when at the last minute their keynote speaker was told by his doctors not to fly.

Ottawa, Canada based global bio-energy products industry expert Don G Roberts, was due to address the conference staged at Stationers' Hall (full name The Worshipful Company of Stationers & Newspaper Makers) in central London, when with less than 24 hours' notice before his scheduled departure, he received the medical advice.

Eclipse, which manages all the venue's 'in-house' AV and technical requirements, thought quickly and stepped in with their new videoconferencing service as the solution.

The Eclipse team supported Roberts and created the means to enable him to be linked from a laptop at his home in Ottawa to

UK - Virgin Records celebrated its 40th anniversary with an extraordinary 10-day exhibition at London's Studio B1 recently. The event was designed to showcase the talent spawned by Virgin Records over the past four decades.

Capital Sound was on hand to make sure the company that built its business on music got the audio it deserved by specifying Martin Audio's new ultra-compact and scalable MLA Mini for the first time in the main event space.

Capital's client TiRA (This is Real Art), a London based design agency, was tasked with developing a theme to showcase Virgin's 40 years of music and then roll it out across the anniversary gigs, book, exhibition and fundraiser.

Paul Timmins of Capital Sound was audio project manager, while Harm Schopman took on the role of Capital crew chief and engineer.

"The MLA Mini was amazingly effective," says Schopman. "A PA in

China - One of the city's biggest and most exclusive clubs, Babyface remains an icon of the Beijing nightlife scene, despite fierce competition from a number of major clubs in the area. Originally opened in 2004, Babyface was completely refurbished and equipped with an APG SMX15-based sound system in 2011.

Whilst successful, owner Mr Wong decided that if he wanted to ensure his top billing amongst the young, wealthy elite of Beijing, he'd have to take things a step further. As a result, 2013 has seen another full redesign, inside and out including a new APG sound system. This time, APG distributor BVCAM, specified a Uniline D system for the main room - the first Uniline installation in China - supplemented by DX12 and DX15 delays throughout the club with bass reinforcement coming from a number of TB118s and SB115 subs. A number of separate APG systems were also specified for the

USA - When the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York revealed its legendary holiday windows to hoards of shoppers with a performance by STREB Extreme Action Company, Unusual Rigging was on hand to ensure the event created a much talked about spectacular - and they didn't disappoint.

Having never before made a big event out of its windows unveiling, Bergdorf Goodman decided to change its demure attitude and approached STREB earlier this year with a request for a show-stopping extravaganza. This year's theme, Holidays on Ice, features display windows devoted to various annual American celebrations and STREB acrobats opened the show by dancing down the outside walls of the Fifth Avenue store, not unveiling the windows until they reached ground level.

Nate Terracio, STREB's production manager, said, "We were asked to create a showpiece that would really get eve

Serbia - Croatian megastar Gibonni recently played a special concert in the Kombank Arena, Belgrade, Serbia in front of 20,000 fans who all went crazy for the occasion! The lighting utilized 22 x Robe Robin Pointes and 36 LEDBeam 100s which were specified by lighting designer Sven Ku?ini?.

Ku?ini?, based in Zagreb, Croatia started working with the popular singer, musician and composer this year. Ku?ini? is a well-known LD in Croatia and was offered the gig following his high profile work with Croatian rockers Prljavo Kazaliste plus a plethora of musicals, concerts and events.

Gibonni is in the middle of a tour at the moment but this was a special show and saw a much anticipated and awaited performance in Serbia.

The starting point for the Belgrade show's lighting design was to create a rig that looked as awesome as possible with as expedient amount of fixtures as possible ..

France - Tapages & Nocturnes is renowned for the diversity and quality of its equipment range. Among the many items it stocks are a wide selection of DPA microphones, especially d:screet miniature and d:fine Headset Microphones that are particularly popular with production companies working on sports and reality TV programming.

"Our equipment is mainly designed for recording sound and it is used across a wide range of film projects and broadcast programming," says Romain Becquet, sales manager at Tapages & Nocturnes. "We own more than 1,200 wireless systems from all of the main manufacturers, and a lot of intercom systems. We also have an extensive range of DPA microphones that are in great demand because our customers find them very versatile and reliable."

The most commonly requested models are the DPA d:screet 4060 Miniature Microphone and the d:fine ran

UK - VDC Trading Limited, the London-based company behind the Van Damme cable brand has recently been certified by Neutrik as a Certified opticalCON assembler (COCA), one of only 24 facilities world-wide and only the fourth in the UK. Thanks to VDC's investment in staff development and equipment, the company is now able to promote and deliver custom manufacture fibre optic solutions to a wide range of markets from a state-of-the-art laboratory at the Brandon Road Headquarters.

VDC CEO Niall Holden said, "This is a considerable investment but natural extension of our capability to deliver bespoke copper-based solutions. It represents a major step forward in our in-house cable technology and, as one of only four similar laboratories in the UK, will enable us to offer a vastly superior fibre optic service to our clients, but with the same great solution design and production t

USA - The new office for Christie Lites New York is officially open for business. The warehouse is in a newly renovated 30,000sq.ft space at 13B Division Street in Fairview, NJ. This 14th location further strengthens Christie Lites' multi-office network supplying full service stage lighting equipment rentals across North America.

Said Christie Lites VP Rentals Ken Alexander, "We are proud of this new expansion which allows us to directly service our already loyal Northeast client base like never before and also provides the perfect avenue to reach new clients in the months and years to come."

Christie Lites New York has been unofficially operating for the past few months while ramping up and accumulating equipment inventory prior to any official opening announcement. Since October, the CLNY office has fulfilled several tour preps including a new NETworks Presentation

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